THREE GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN OCTOBER SHOOTING OF TWO MEN IN CAR

Three gang members were arrested Thursday in connection with the attempted murder of two men who were shot multiple times in Chula Vista in October.

Chula Vista police and sheriff’s SWAT officers took Manuel Cadena, 30, into custody at his Harness Drive home in Spring Valley. Brothers Oswaldo and Paul Mariscal, ages 22 and 29, respectively, were arrested at their home on Olive Street in National City, said Chula Vista police Lt. Lon Turner.

They are accused in the Oct. 7 shooting in which the victims, who are both in their 20s, were wounded in a hail of bullets.

The men had been sitting in a car on Kearney Street near 2nd Avenue about 1:40 a.m. when they were attacked.

One was shot several times in the legs while the other suffered numerous gunshot wounds to his face and torso. That man was hospitalized for 30 days in an intensive care unit in a coma, Turner said.

Two of those arrested were the gunmen while the third was the getaway driver, Turner said.

The assault stemmed from a dispute that took place earlier at a nearby bar, he said.

Debbi Baker • U-T

Two women rescued from fire at house; $300K damage estimated

east county

Two women were carried to safety while flames burned their garage and spread to their house in Casa de Oro Thursday morning, fire officials said.

Damage was estimated at $300,000 in the 9 a.m. blaze on Avoyer Place off Estrella Drive, east of La Mesa, San Miguel Fire District spokesman Leonard Villarreal said.

Residents told fire investigators they noticed a slight smoke smell in the kitchen, but thought it was from food on the stove. When the smell got worse, one resident went outside and opened the garage door.

The fire erupted into massive flames and quickly spread into the house and attic, Villarreal said. Firefighters saved half the house from damage, he said.

The residents carried the elderly female homeowner outside, Villarreal said. A neighbor carried out a young woman who had been sleeping in a back bedroom.

Villarreal said one person suffered mild smoke inhalation and one suffered a small gash on the forehead.

He said it did not appear that the house had any working smoke alarms. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Gang member arrested in fatal shooting of man in Lincoln Park

San Diego

A 20-year-old gang member has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in a fatal shooting in Lincoln Park last week, San Diego police said.

Aron Franklin was charged Thursday in the Jan. 3 death of Julius Batiste, 20, said homicide Lt. Jorge Duran.

Franklin was booked into the George Bailey Detention Facility. He also is accused of 11 other felony counts, including participating in a criminal street gang and weapons charges.

Police said Batiste had gotten out of jail the day before he was gunned down on 50th Street near Imperial Avenue. He and several other young men were standing in an apartment complex walkway when he was shot about 2:45 p.m.